


Part of the Family

by TimeSorceror



Series: Nesting [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Alpha!Fenris, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, And Justice is very protective with more feels than he knows what to do with, Anders is a mother hen with too many feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fenris is very considerate, Fluff, M/M, Mpreg, Omega!Anders, Pregnant Sex, Seriously the man can't stop tearing up, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 09:49:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8528428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeSorceror/pseuds/TimeSorceror
Summary: In the middle of an unusually harsh Kirkwall winter, a pregnant Anders wakes to the sounds of a storm and heads to the clinic to prepare for the inevitable injuries and illnesses that are sure to follow. And while normally Anders would spend countless hours without rest or breaks caring for his patients, Anders finds that he has more than one person who insists on caring for him instead.. because that's what it means to be family.





	

**Author's Note:**

> In my head the summary for this story was mostly, "In which Anders frets like a blighted mother hen, Fenris is a good mate who is just absolutely doting, and protective!Justice is struggles with all the feels."
> 
> I think that about sums it up nicely. 
> 
> Also, there's some art I made of Anders' new coat and robes. It's just a sketch, so it's rather unpolished, but it gets the point across. And there is a little bit of plot if you turn your head sideways and squint. But it's mostly just fluff and more fluff. :)

It was the sound of the wind rattling against the window that woke Anders from his pleasant dream. He blinked, lashes fluttering as he slowly woke from his unusually restful sleep. 

It was so much harder to wake when he was so pleasantly warm, though.

Buried under the covers with a roaring fire in the fireplace and the muted sounds of a storm outside, Anders never wanted to move. However, it was at that moment that Justice decided to make himself known.

**_You should get up soon. You and the little ones require sustenance before you leave for the clinic, Anders._ **

Anders sat bolt upright, wincing a little when a hard kick landed against his ribs in protest. He hissed, rubbing his belly gently to soothe the child, using a little healing magic to ease the resulting ache in his ribs.

“Sorry, darling,” he cooed. Then he looked up, sensing that something, or rather _someone_ was missing from the bed. Where was Fenris?

He turned his head to where the glint of a dagger hilt shone near a neatly packed box on top of what looked like a letter. 

“Probably went on a job with Hawke… though he’ll regret it, especially in this weather.” Anders glanced at the gale outside, sleet pounding against the windows. He was suddenly glad that Fenris had accepted Marian’s offer to get him the deed to the mansion and Varric’s help with the fixing up. 

It had helped lessen his compulsory cleaning instincts quite a bit, certainly.

But it had also helped keep the mansion warm during this winter’s rather unusual harshness, which he appreciated. Mostly. His usual choice of sleepwear these days was nothing at all, or sometimes whichever shirt still fit him, so he shivered a bit as the blankets fell to pool in his lap while he sat cross-legged on the bed, completely naked. He quickly tugged at the topmost sheet so that he could use it to fend off the slight chill.

It didn’t help slow the gentle kicks against his insides though.

 ** _Sustenance, Anders._** Justice reminded him. **_And perhaps the washroom._**

“I know, Justice. Trust me, I know. Thanks for the reminder, though.”

He glanced down at the swell of his belly, a sight that still amazed him every morning he woke up to it. He was a Grey Warden after all, this really shouldn’t have been possible. The taint had been long assumed amongst the Wardens to make them infertile, or near to it. Yet not only had he and Fenris beaten those odds, but they’d practically destroyed them. 

Triplets. Maker, he wasn’t even five months along yet and he already had trouble not needing the loo at least once every hour.

Well, there were worse things, he supposed. Slowly, so as not to agitate the babies further, Anders swung his legs over the side of the bed, stood up, and shuffled over to the wardrobe. He scooped up the new maternity clothes he’d picked up from Lirene the other day and made his sheet-clad way to the bathing room to take care of morning routines and see how well they fit.

If they were anything like the coat Fenris had commissioned for him, though, they probably would. As Anders was under no illusions that the mood swings which came with pregnancy wouldn’t affect him, he’d expected to get a little emotional when his usual clothes stopped fitting. But he hadn’t been prepared for such a violent transition as the one he’d had the day his precious coat wouldn’t fit him at last. He’d been so beside himself he had stayed in for a few days, only to be woken one morning by Fenris… holding his coat.

Or rather a brand new coat that looked just like his usual one, feathers and all, only it had been tailored to fit him as the babies grew. He hadn’t had the words to express how grateful he was. He still didn’t.

But Fenris was like that. Just so.. doting. Caring. Considerate. He was even looking into a set of boots like Anders’ favorites that he could wear when his ankles started swelling. He’d been like that when they were courting, though he’d hadn’t always known the best way to go about things.

Their discovery of Anders’ pregnancy had done much to improve Fenris’ confidence, and that was how Anders knew that Fenris was just as excited as he was about the whole affair. Of course, he didn’t have to deal with the barrage of kicks to various internal organs, ill-fitting clothes, and cravings at odd hours of the night, but… he knew that. And so he did his best to make those things as easy for Anders to deal with as he possibly could. And that thought made a spot in Anders’ chest all tight and tingly with emotion.

Or perhaps it was one of the babies, impatiently urging Anders to stop taking his time with the chamberpot. He sighed and rolled his eyes downward.

“I might take less time if the three of you would just settle,” he muttered. “It’s fortunate that your Uncle Varric cares about your daddy’s comfort the way the he does. Knickerweasels, runed plumbing is ever so Maker-sent.”

Eventually he was able to finish dealing with bodily functions and do a little grooming before slipping into the maternity clothes. They were pretty much like the mage robes he’d worn in the Circle, except they were cut at the knees for more mobility, had pants for practicality, and a substantial lack of buckles. 

When he’d asked Lirene if she knew of any way to get pants that would fit, he was delighted to find that she knew how to make some herself. So of course she insisted on doing it for him as a favor, though he’d probably ask Fenris to pay her later. She’d even known to ask if he was having multiples, and the look on his face must have been something to see because she'd instantly burst into laughter.

* * *

“It’s your first, isn’t it?” Lirene asked him after she’d sat him down and was taking his measurements.

“…yes?” 

“You’re the healer! I thought you’d know. First pregnancies for omega men have a tendency to produce multiples.”

Anders simply shrugged. 

“In the Circle, we were always so careful to stay on suppressants or cycle potions. Mages who are found with child or conceive one while in the Circle don’t get to keep them afterwards. None of us ever wanted to deal with that.”

“Oh.” 

Lirene was quiet for a moment before she continued with, “And I suppose the fact that about 7 in every 10 omega men are mages doesn’t help, does it? Well, you’re mated now, so by Chantry law you’re under your mate’s purview and not the Circle’s. How many are you having, anyway?”

Anders’ reply was a soft, timid, “Three?”

“Well, well! So much for that infertile Grey Warden blood of yours!”

Anders grunted, folding his arms once she’d signaled she was finished. “I know. I hadn’t even expected to get pregnant in the first place, never mind with so many!” Lirene just laughed. “Oh, but you’ll enjoy it. When you’re not constantly trying to get comfortable, that is.” Anders chuckled.

“I know. Most of my patients who’ve had multiples say the same thing. And on top of that, Fenris is just over the moon about it. He kept swearing that we’d have an entire litter, but I figured it was just… you know. Alpha talk.”

Lirene grinned at him. “Alphas are more in tune to their mates than most people think. He probably knows things about you that you’ve never even thought to tell him about. Your most obscure favorite foods, which soaps you like to bathe with, even what positions you prefer when you sleep in and what temperature will help make your sleep restful. Trust me, a good alpha knows these things.”

“Sounds just like Fenris,” Anders sighed, sniffling. Blinking, he rubbed at the tears which had formed without his noticing them. “Ugh. These mood swings are just brutal sometimes.” 

“Could be worse,” she reminded him, handing him a handkerchief. “Morning sickness is no picnic, either. I’m sure plenty of your patients would’ve given anything to trade that experience for yours.” Anders laughed, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Yes, I suppose that’s true. My lack of morning sickness was what took us so long to figure it out…”

“Well, I’ll send you a runner letting you know when these are done, alright? You take care of yourself in the meantime, you hear?”

* * *

Which was exactly what he’d done. And mostly at Justice’s insistence, which was really the strangest thing.

 ** _Why is my concern so strange?_** Justice piped as Anders finished his breakfast and was slipping his new favorite coat over the robes. **_I am merely looking after you and the little ones._**

“I, well…” Anders sighed, slinging the food basket with the letter over one arm and grasping his staff with the other. “Ever since we joined… you know. It was always about the freedom of mages and tending to the clinic and our manifesto… or something of that nature.”

Anders put out the fire before he left, suddenly very glad Lirene’d had the foresight to put in a few layers of thick woolen under-robes when the cold of the rest of the mansion almost immediately began seeping in.

**_Yes, well. Though there is still much we can do to further our cause, we have… other things to think about now._ **

As Anders was making his way to the cellars to use the passage to Darktown, he was suddenly awash with a warm mix of regret and deep affection.

“You were annoyed when Fenris and I started courting, but after being so close to all that lyrium for so long…”

**_He has helped us learn to communicate, despite his fears._ **

That had been another strange development. After their violent joining all those years ago, Anders and Justice had been left with seemingly no way to communicate and a whole host of problems to deal with. Eventually Anders had been able to separate some of Justice’s feelings from his own and managed to use this as a method of pseudo-communication, but this only got them so far.

Things had changed when they met Fenris.

Even during the early days that were not unlike a distant nightmare to him now, even then just being near Fenris did something to Anders that made it easier to “hear” Justice’s feelings and glean detailed impressions from them.

It wasn’t until after they’d put aside their hatred, courted, and mated that Anders had finally heard Justice’s voice for the first time in years.

 _ **The catalyst remains an unknown**_ , Justice remarked. **_But whatever the cause, I am glad of it now that we can speak again._**

“As am I,” Anders replied, finding the latch of the door to the Darktown passage and throwing it open. More feelings of regret flooded him, and then echoes of feelings – despair, inadequacy, loneliness – followed them as he tapped his staff to have the crystal at the tip light the way forward.

**_I never disapproved of you, Anders. And I do not disapprove of you now._ **

“I… I know.”

Anders glanced down and pressed his free hand against his stomach, rubbing it gently. Initially, he had worried a little about how Justice would react to Anders’ pregnancy, but it turned out that he hadn’t needed to. Not only was Justice incredibly protective of the babies and their continued growth and safety (and therefore, Anders’ well-being), but it had actually been Justice who had let on that Anders was carrying multiples in the first place.

* * *

It had been another long day at the clinic about a month after they’d discovered Anders’ pregnancy, and the last vestiges of the latest influx of Bone Pit patients had just left moments before.

Anders left for the mansion, ravenous and exhausted and in desperate need of the comfort of his mate, but Fenris hadn’t arrived back yet. This left Anders to curl up in their nest to try to calm himself with their scents, slowly devouring a small loaf of bread and an accompanying jar of apple butter, but in the back of his mind, Justice stirred. He seemed to be annoyed, but was sending what felt like gentle waves of serenity through Anders’ nerves to help soothe him.

**_Anders. Do not fret so. If you are distressed, then the babies are distressed. It is my understanding that this is not a good thing._ **

This had Anders doing the mental equivalent of a sharp brake in surprise.

“Babies? As in… more than one, Justice?”

**_Yes. Or… is that not something you should know?_ **

“No, it’s… it’s fine! I…” Anders sat up and ran a diagnostic spell again, this one a bit more advanced than the others he’d used before. When it finished, his breath left him in a rush, and tears pricked at the edges of his eyes.

**_Anders? Is everything alright?_ **

“Yes,” Anders laughed, tears running down his cheeks even as he did so. “Everything is perfect. So very perfect.” 

And the look on Fenris’ face when Anders told him after they’d had dinner was the best thing in the world, really. Fenris, usually one to eschew physical contact with most people, was so tactile with him. He’d reached out and pressed his hands against the now quite obvious swell of his belly through the clothing, marveling at the wonder that was their _children_.

“I _told_ you, you know.” Fenris purred in that sinful voice of his. “I was sure of it.”

Anders huffed, feigning disbelief. “It was a guess, and you know it.” Fenris simply grinned at him wolfishly. “I was still right.”

“Ugh. You’re impossible.”

“What did I tell you? I’m not impossible.”

“I know, I know. You’re just insatiable.”

“You like it.”

Of course he did, but he wasn’t about to tell him that. Instead, he’d looked down at their joined hands resting on his belly and he sighed softly.

“I’m still… not quite over the fact that’s there’s three of them in there. It does explain why I’m showing this early, though. And growing so quickly! My clothing can hardly keep up…”

“Well, we’ll just have to get you new things. Winter’s almost here, anyway. You should have new things, regardless.”

“Admit it, you just like spoiling me.”

“Well yes. That I do.”

* * *

**_He takes good care of you. He is a good mate_** , Justice observed.

It made Anders so happy that Justice approved of Fenris. That he was so protective of their babies. And as he lit the lantern and entered the clinic, he felt Justice’s answering feelings of happiness.

There was still a nagging thought at the back of his mind that wouldn’t leave, though… and it worried at him even further when one of Miss Selby’s runners came to him with a message from the Underground shortly after he’d just stoking the fires, and wrapping the bandages. 

He sighed, deciding to put the letter away for now. He still had potions to organize before his assistant and the day’s patients arrived.

Justice shifted again, gently brushing against his mind once more.

**_Anders. Do not fret so. The Underground had been running itself since before we arrived here. It will continue to do so without us._ **

“So… you’re not angry?” Anders sniffed, wiping at the beginnings of tears in his eyes. “B-Because you know we can’t go back. Not after this.” He looked down and ran his hands over his belly again, trying to soothe the babies. Damn, and they’d just settled down, too. Blasted mood swings.

But with his next breath he was flooded with the sensation of a hug-that-wasn’t a hug and that same deep affection from earlier, and his tears disappeared as quickly as they’d come.

**_I know. And while the freedom of mages is still an important task… there are more important things. Our mate. The babies. I realize now how wrong I was to press you so… and I apologize._ **

“It’s… thank you. And I’m sorry too, for fretting.”

**_Nonsense. It is natural, as I understand. But… perhaps I can help. May I try to calm them?_ **

Anders blinked, wincing when a especially hard kick caught the edge of a lung. 

“How?” he coughed. 

He didn’t receive a response, exactly, but he felt another wave of calm coming from Justice that didn’t so much affect him as it… went through him. And, after a few moments, the kicks softened and diminished in frequency until they lessened to gentle presses against the skin.

Anders just stared in amazement, fingers idly trailing after the movements underneath his robes. 

“How did you do that?”

There was a mental equivalent of a confused shrug.

 ** _I have become quite skilled at helping you regulate your moods_** , Justice said slowly, almost hesitantly. **_And I noticed that there was a parallel between your emotions and the babies…_**

“Like how my distress made the babies distressed.” Anders said thoughtfully.

**_Yes. But you are the one carrying them, and I did not wish to seem… as though I were encroaching on your protective rights._ **

Shades of guilt flashed through across their connection, and Anders got the distinct impression that Justice was almost… sad. Despondent. Why? Anders was about to ask for clarification of his impressions, but before he could finish forming the thought, his assistant, a waifish elf girl from Lowtown, slipped through the clinic doors.

“Ah, hello Marina,” Anders greeted warmly. “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it today, what with this weather.” He paused, giving the poor girl a once-over. She was practically dripping with sleet, nearly soaked from head to toe. 

“Oh you poor thing,” he fussed, “You really should’ve stayed home! You’re soaked through… come, come. I think one of the families last week left some clothes in your size. Let’s get you out of those wet things before you freeze.” She nodded, not quite knowing what to do with his fussing. 

“I thought about it…” She said idly as she undressed behind a strung up curtain. “But I knew you’d be here all alone. And even before you were pregnant you never took enough breaks.”

“I, well…” Anders sighed, unable to refute the observation. “I suppose you’re right. Here, let me take those wet things while you dress. And make sure you sit by one the fires for a little while with one of those blankets Sebastian gave us for the winter.”

The girl simply paused, halfway through dressing, and stared at him sideways.

“You’re such a mother hen, healer. Must be the babies.”

“Don’t you sass me, Marina.” 

There was a grunt, some shuffling, and eventually Marina came out from behind the curtain, sock-footed and wrapped in a red woolen blanket. She shuffled over to one of the fires and settled there while Anders shook out the water from her clothes and left them above a banked fire to dry.

“’m not sassing. Was just making an observation.”

“Uh huh,” Anders hummed, and there was another grunt in reply. And then it was silent for a little while before the girl spoke again, sounding concerned.

“I’m worried about some of the families in the lower parts of Darktown. There’s too much damp down there, someone’s goin’ ta catch their death, you know?” She sneezed, and Anders glanced in her direction. “I know. Even in storms like this, there’s always been a line out the door. Normally I’d go out looking, but…” He sighed, running a hand over his belly. “I can’t now.”

Marina nodded in agreement, and the atmosphere in the room took on a somber air for a moment until she straightened and looked at the doors, ears twitching. Anders looked up too once he heard voices, and shortly afterward a young man poked his head in, followed by a passel of small children. 

“Healer? Oh, thank the Maker, you’re here. My little girl just can’t seem to stop coughing. Can you help us?”

Anders gestured for them to come in as Marina stood and set the blanket on one of the cots for the girl the father was carrying. “Yes, of course,” Anders replied as he went to prop the door open, “come on in.”

And so began their day. As expected of the season, several outbreaks of runny noses and coughing fits had spread during the night, but with the weather and most people’s lack of coin to pay for medicine, that left Anders’ little clinic the only place people could go to in order to get any real help. At least it wasn’t too serious. Mostly there were just a lot of concerned parents and several very, very unhappy children. 

There were few people that came in with broken limbs after having slipped in some frozen sleet or some such, but not as many as Anders had feared there might be. However, with all the children around, some of the not sick ones that had escaped the watches of their distracted parents and guardians had run off to gather around the healer. 

Anders was putting the arm of an older woman into a sling when a few of these children had gathered a short distance away.

“It seems you have a following, dear,” she chortled. Anders glanced behind him and turned back with an exasperated sigh. “Oh, it’s been like that ever since I started properly showing.”

“I can imagine. When I was pregnant with my second child, my eldest was simply entranced with me once I got into the later months. It just seems like the thing every child does, you know?” She shrugged as best she could with her free should and jerked her head in their direction.

“They probably just want to touch, that’s all. And what’s the harm in that?”

 _ **A lot of things, potentially**_ , Justice grumbled, nearly startling Anders out of his task. **_But if they just want to touch, I don’t see why we should deny them._**

Anders sighed, finally finished securing the wrapping of her sling.

“Well… I… I suppose.” He turned to the group of children, some of whom shrieked a little in surprise and hid behind the older or taller ones of the bunch. He gestured for them to come closer, which they did.

“Hello children,” he called softly, pulling himself up to sit on one of the cots.

“Hello healer,” a few of the older ones said in unison. Anders felt something in his heart melt a little. They _were_ quite adorable. 

_**I… I concur.** _

Anders couldn’t help the smile that burst onto his face at Justice’s admission. 

“Were you darlings trying to get my attention earlier? I’m sorry, the cold tends to make the clinic _very_ busy.”

The tallest of the bunch shook their head slightly. 

“Oh no, serrah. ‘s just that some of the little ones heard you were having a baby, er… _babies_ , and well…” The distressed young man had this look on his face, something akin to a mix of embarrassment and frustration. Poor boy had probably only recently been told about how babies were really made and didn’t know how to explain it to the younger ones.

“It’s alright,” Anders assured him. “They’re only curious.” One of the younger ones, a brave little child that couldn’t be more than three or so had stopped just short of where he sat and was staring at his belly with wide eyes.

“Hey there,” he cooed to get her attention, and immediately her eyes went up to his. “Hi. Do you want to touch? You can, you know. It’s alright.”

He offered her his hand, and she took it enthusiastically as he pressed it against the area he’d felt the most activity last. “Now… it might take a moment, but they’re very active today. Should be… oh!” Anders was surprised by the kick just as much as the little girl, who broke away from him with a squeal of delight as she ran back to the side of the older boy.

A sibling, he thought, now that he saw them standing next to each other.

Some of the others started to approach, and for a moment Anders was regretting his decision, but the older woman with the sling was still rather good at wrangling small children, and helped keep the majority of them from crowding him until only the tallest boy was left.

Anders looked at him expectantly.

“Do you want to touch too?” he asked. The boy frowned, shifting his weight and anxiously playing with the oversized scarf he wore.

“I… if it’s alright.” he replied timidly. Anders motioned for him to come closer. 

“I don’t bite, I promise. Not unless you’re food.” 

The boy chuckled a little. “Sorry, no food.” Anders grinned and took his hand, pressing it against his belly. “A shame. I’m always hungry these days.” The boy looked like he’d been about to make some sort of witty reply when a few gentle kicks against his hand stopped him.

“Wow. Even when Mama was pregnant with Kelsie it never felt like that.”

Anders hummed softly in reply. “Well, they’re very active today. But better that they’re pressing against someone’s touch than my bladder, I suppose.” 

The boy chuckled again, but he still seemed uneasy about something.

“Are you alright?” Anders asked as he peered up at the boy. He shuffled nervously once more, but didn’t answer. Instead, he asked, “Is it real uncomf’table? I heard Omega men often get multiples the first time ‘round.”

 ** _Anders._** Justice rumbled. _**I think the boy is Omega.**_

Oh. That would explain some things.

“Oh sometimes. Mostly when they’re really active. Is… is there something you want to tell me, young man?”

“Elden.” He said quietly. “M’ name’s Elden.”

“A good Ferelden name,” Anders told the boy, nodding approvingly and offering him a smile. “Nice and strong. But that’s not what I’m looking for. And I think you know that.”

Elden nodded. “I… presented last month. Omega. No magic though.” He shrugged. “Mama said I should ask you about a… suppressant? I think that’s what they’re called.” 

Anders just smiled at the young man.

“Yes, I have a few I can give you. Say, could you give me a hand up? Yes, like that, thank you.” 

Anders walked the boy over to his alchemy tables and scanned the prepared stock until he found a box of suppressants already finished.

“Ah, here we are. You should probably wait to use them until you can accurately predict how often your cycles will occur. Do you have a safe place where you can stay during your next couple of heats?” The boy shook his head. “Not really. Mama and I were away from the city when it happened the first time.”

“Well is your mother here?”

Elden nodded. 

“Can you take me to her?”

The boy nodded again as he gathered his sister in his arms and led Anders to where a dark-haired Ferelden woman sat fussing over a girl on a cot. She appeared to be older than Kelsie but younger than Elden and had what looked like a fever and a terrible cough. 

The woman looked up when they approached, and her face paled a little.

“Oh, Kelsie! How did…?” She gibbered nonsensically over the little girl for a few moments before standing. “I’m so sorry about that, healer.”

Anders simply waved at her concerns.

“It was no trouble. She just wanted to feel the babies kick, was all. She was very well behaved, thanks to your son.” He glanced at Elden, who blushed profusely at the compliment as he sat in his mother’s place, pressing a cloth soaked with cool water against his sister’s forehead. The mother just laughed. “Of course, of course. He’s such a good boy…” She trailed off, her smile fading as she appeared to remember something important that she’d forgotten.

“Oh, Elden… did you ask…”

“I did, Mama.”

She looked to Anders, who moved around the cot to embrace her with one arm.

“I’ve given your son a box of suppressants, but it’s generally a good idea to wait on taking them until after a couple of cycles and he tells me that there’s not really a good place at home for him to wait out a cycle safely?”

The mother nodded. “Yes. We live in Lowtown, but we’re just a step above living here some weeks. I don’t… I don’t know what we can do other than send him to the Chantry, Healer.”

“He can come here, if he likes. Actually, if you can spare him, it might be preferable to let him work here for a few months. It wouldn’t be forever if it’s too much trouble since the job doesn’t pay much. However my mate and the Champion help me with Marina’s salary, so I’m sure I could scrape together something for Elden. And I can teach him to make his own suppressants so you can gather your own ingredients the next time you make a trip outside of the city.”

Beside him, the poor woman was in tears. They seemed to be happy tears, though, and she did her best to hug him from the side. One of the babies didn’t seem to like how tightly she was hugging however and both of them gasped when a well aimed kick pressed against Anders’ side.

He groaned softly, chuckling. “Ow. That one really hurt.”

“Apologies, Healer.” The woman sniffed. Then she leaned down and spoke directly to the spot where he’d been kicked.

“And apologies to you too, little one. You mustn’t have much room begin with, don’t you?” She sighed and straightened as she offered him a sympathetic smile. “You poor dear. Can’t be all that easy for you either, can it?”

Anders shrugged.

“It’s… a challenge, certainly. But I never expected to be having them to begin with, so… every day is a gift.”

“But it’s you who’s given us such a gift. Back home, growing up was never easy for non-mage Omega boys. With non-mage Omega girls, there’s this kind of, of… solidarity, you know? We look out for one another.”

Anders nodded. “It was like that in my village too. I presented Omega pretty early, but my mother knew how to brew suppressants and so we thought we could make it work. And then my magic manifested.”

“Could… could that happen to me?” Elden piped worriedly.

Anders glanced at his mother. “It’s… always a possibility. If you have a lot of magic in your family, then I might be watching for it. If not, it’s very very rare for a mage to manifest as late as I did. And I only knew one person who manifested about a year after me. You should be fine.”

“But if I’m not? If I’m… like you?”

Anders sighed, running a hand over his belly to soothe his nerves.

“Then you might be staying with me longer than we anticipated. By the way, if you and your family don’t mind staying until I’m done for the day so we can discuss arrangements, that would be the best way to sort this out.”

“Can I still help?” Elden asked, looking up. Anders looked at his mother, who sat down and took the cloth from Elden’s hand and nodded.

“Of course. I can never turn down another pair of hands. Come on, I’ll show you how to boil elfroot tea for your sister and the others.”

Anders was happy to see that Elden seemed to fit right in at the clinic. He learned quickly, and the more people he helped, the more confident he became. And when Marina finally dragged him to the back room to eat the lunch Fenris had packed for him, he was confident that he was leaving the clinic in capable hands for the next half hour or so.

“I know the boy’s probably got his sights set on other things, but I kind of hope he stays. He’s a good kid and he’d be a good assistant.”

 _ **I agree**_ , Justice replied idly.

Anders frowned as he tore into an apple-butter smeared chicken leg. Justice was never distracted like this. Usually he argued against it.

_Justice, are you alright?_

A feeling of surprise flooded him, then silence. But Anders could tell that it was a thinking kind of silence, because he could practically feel the wheels of Justice’s mind turning as he tried to accurately articulate… something. Anders was again suddenly very glad that they could actually have real conversations now, even though sometimes getting an answer out of Justice was like drawing blood from a stone.

**_I am… strangely at odds with my own thoughts. I do not know how to reconcile them with how I feel about those thoughts…_ **

Anders munched quietly on a bite of chicken for a few moments before swallowing and washing it down with some juice Fenris had helped him make with some of the winter apples in the market.

_At odds with yourself? That’s… rather unlike you. Come, tell me what’s wrong, Justice. Let me help you, like you’ve helped me._

There was another pause as Anders dug around for the generous chunk of cheese in his box and set the chicken leg in its packaging to have a few bites of the cheese instead.

_You’ve been stewing in guilt all morning, Justice. What is it?_

There was a few moments pause before Justice responded with a question that he hadn’t quite been expecting.

**_Does it not bother you that I can simply… influence your babies with nothing more than a thought? You had once been afraid of my reaction after you had confirmed their existence._ **

Anders swallowed again and stopped eating completely.

“Oh… Justice.”

Anders felt his heart break at how he felt Justice shiver with anticipation. He realized, once he really thought about it, that perhaps he should be a little worried. But despite his initial worries, Justice had proved to approve of the pregnancy, even helping Anders adjust to uncomfortable changes in ways Fenris couldn’t. Like… calming the babies to make it easier for him to work or read, even to sleep at night.

Gingerly, he began nibbling at the cheese again because he could feel the babies protesting the interruption of their lunch, despite the fact that they really had no idea what lunchtime was or that it had been interrupted.

_Justice… they’re not just my babies. They’re yours too. You’ve been helping me care for them by doing what you do. Now, I don’t know if they have thoughts yet, or if babies ever do before they’re born, but I’m sure they care for you too._

He sniffed as a mental equivalent of quiet, happy tears emanated from Justice. 

“Now stop that.” Anders admonished gently. “I don’t need your mood swings on top of my own, alright? I’ve got a lunch to finish and patients to see.”

And Justice left him to do just that as he curled up in his little corner of Anders’ mind and remained there until Anders closed the clinic in the very late hours of evening. And as she’d promised, Elden’s mother stayed with her girls until Anders had a moment to speak to her. She and her son discussed Elden’s stay in the clinic with him, and they came to arrangement where the boy would leave tonight to collect a few important keepsakes and was to report back as soon as he could tomorrow morning.

“Marina’s staying the night to look after the little ones who are too sick to move right now, so she’ll be here even if I don’t make it in. Usually I try, but… some days it’s not always possible.” He smiled at them sheepishly while rubbing his belly, to which Elden’s mother simply smiled back.

“We understand. Now, I suppose you’re looking to go home, Healer?”

“Maker, yes,” he breathed. “Even after the generous lunch my mate left me, it feels like I ate it yesterday and I’m already ravenous again. A warm bath and a comfortable bed aren’t terrible things to want either…”

She chuckled. “Well, I’m not going to keep you. Go home and rest now.”

After checking in with Marina – who waved him away and all but shoved him out the doors despite her slight build – he finally left the clinic and took the cellar passages home.

Once there, he immediately caught a whiff of Fenris’ warm scent. His mate was home! 

Instantly a smile was on his face and he forgot his hunger for a moment as he walked (as fast as was possible while carrying triplets) all the way to their rooms. He knew that Fenris would hear him coming if he wasn’t already asleep, so he didn’t bother to keep quiet as he entered.

Fenris sat next to the fire, a pot bubbling happily in the hearth. He turned to Anders, and suddenly Anders was very aware that Fenris was wearing nothing but the sheet Anders had used that very morning, and… ah, he was still wearing his leggings. Or a pair of them, since he wore no boots with them but he did have on some thick woolen socks.

(The first time Fenris had tried to go out in snow without boots, he’d thrown a fit. He didn’t quite remember what he said afterwards, but Fenris had never argued the point since then.)

“I read your letter,” Anders greeted him as he set down the empty basket and placed his staff back in it’s usual place next to Fenris’ sword. “I didn’t think you’d be back this early. Hope the weather didn’t give you too much trouble today. It was sleeting pretty hard when I got up this morning.”

Fenris simply grunted and snuggled closer against Anders as he sat next to him. “Turned out to be a false alarm. Aveline’s patrol on the coast was probably just jumping at shadows.”

Anders hummed quietly as Fenris wrapped one arm around Anders and reached out to rest his other hand against Anders’ belly.

“Tensions are so high in the Gallows these days, and few Qunari still roam the city and its outskirts. Aveline’s patrol might have been jumping at shadows, but sometimes there has to be something that casts those shadows.” Fenris nodded and hummed in agreement.

“Enough about that. How was today?”

“Long. A lot of sick children and the occasional patient with a broken bone. It could’ve been a lot worse, with this weather. The babies were more active than usual, but I let some of the younger ones who weren’t sick feel them kicking for a while. Took some pressure off of my innards, at least. Oh, and a young man came with his mother and sisters. The older sister was sick, but the boy came to me about suppressants.”

“An omega?” Fenris asked, pulling away and angling his head to Anders. “Is he a mage?” Anders shook his head.

“No, I don’t think so. He’s just about the age of the latest I ever knew a mage’s magic to manifest. It’s always a possibility, but at this point it’s very unlikely. He’s coming back tomorrow morning to start work though, and I promised to see if I could get him wages to compensate for the time he’ll be away from his family. So he can wait out his first couple heats in the safety of the clinic before he starts taking suppressants.”

“I’m sure Hawke and I can put together something for you to give him. Will he be assisting you in the clinic, also?”

“He was helping me today. He’s very good at it, actually. I’m tempted to convince him to stay on, but… we’ll see.” Fenris nodded again and got up to check the pot on the hearth. He stirred its contents, tasted them, and seemed satisfied with it.

“Made some stew. It’s not much, but the meat’s good. Used the last of the druffalo, some vegetables, potatoes, spices. You know, the ones you like.”

Anders huffed, grinning. “I never used to like spicy things until this pregnancy. It’s your children’s doing, I swear.” Fenris simply waved him off and filled a bowl up for each of them. “Hmmpf. They have good taste. Don’t hesitate to tell me if you want more.”

“Of course.”

So they ate, discussed more of the minutiae of the day’s events, giving each other heated looks as they did so. Eventually, when even Anders’ appetite was sated, they retired to the washroom to soak in a warm bath with the rare luxury of bubbles and scented soaps. When they finished, they didn’t bother with clothes after they dried off, as their wandering hands grew purposeful, sifting through hair, roaming over skin, clutching and caressing.

Fenris lay on the bed as Anders rode him slowly, taking his time and savoring their shared pleasure. Between them, Anders’ cock was caught underneath the weight of their babies, the delicious friction only enhancing the experience. 

At some point Fenris took hold of Anders’ hips and helped drive him home even further, Anders moaning loudly with each thrust. He knew Fenris liked it when he was loud. It hadn’t always been an easy thing, since the Circle had ingrained silence during sexual encounters into him since he’d started exploring his body and sexuality. But it came easier now and Anders was too far gone to even restrain himself anyway.

One thrust, accompanied by a soft brush of a thumb against one side of his belly, hit his sweet spot and sent him over the edge with a keening cry. Fenris followed moments later with Anders’ name on his lips. 

Anders had been careful not to take Fenris’ knot, so he was able to roll over to his side and reach for the cloth on their beside table to clean them up. Fenris, tired from the day’s exertions, struggled to stay awake long enough to kiss Anders and wish him and the babies a good night. He fell into a deep sleep moments later.

Sleep for Anders, however, was not likely to be coming soon. 

“I should’ve known that a round of sex would excite you three,” he sighed. They were happily active again, which meant he would have to wait for them to settle until he could sleep.

 ** _I could help, if you like_** , offered Justice.

Oh, right. He could do that. But… Anders had a thought first. Glancing over at Fenris to make sure the elf was fast asleep, he pulled the covers up against his belly and rubbed it before speaking aloud softly.

“Of course, sure. But do you want to feel them, first? I don’t think I’ve ever asked you before.”

An impression of stupefied blinking flashed across their connection, followed by curiosity, gratitude, and a little trepidation.

_**You would… you would let us transition so I can feel them? Are you sure?** _

Anders couldn’t help the physical nod in response.

“Yes. I told you today that they’re your babies too, but I just realized you’ve never actually felt them kick. You should. It’s alright, it shouldn’t affect them much, I think.”

There was quiet in his mind before a little while until Justice spoke again.

**_Alright. I would like to… to feel them._ **

Anders sighed contentedly and leaned back against his pillows and the headboard as he cleared his mind and waited for Justice to press forward for control. Slowly he felt like he was falling, and falling, his skin splitting with veins of sparkling blue light. He felt his eyes opening and he could see the room again, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. 

They’d done this before a few times, so Anders knew to expect these sensations. And then he felt his breath hitch as Justice felt the babies kick for the first time.

He could feel Justice marvel at the feeling. Without control, the sensations were only a distant memory, but the bright lights of the babies felt warm and somehow excited to feel his soul touch theirs as he reached out to them. This… must be how Justice experienced every interaction with them. It was no wonder he was so protective. 

 _How do you feel, Justice?_ Anders asked, still basking in his own sensations.

**_I find… that I cannot find the words to accurately articulate how I feel. It is a wondrous, magnificent, and magical experience._ **

_Hmm. Tell me that again when they kick something important, like a lung._

Justice chuckled.

**_There are drawbacks, certainly. But you cannot deny how thrilling it is to feel the proof of their formation inside you, Anders. It is… again, I fail to find words to describe it._ **

Yes, Anders supposed. Justice was right. Anders remembered the very first time he’d felt the fluttering kicks, the little hands pressing against his skin. 

It had been thrilling. Wonderful, magnificent, and magical. 

 _We should sleep soon_ , Anders reminded Justice. _We would be a poor example to our babies if we stayed up later than was healthy._

**_..we?_ **

_Yes, we_ , Anders replied. _You’re part of the family too, now._

As Anders began to resume control again, he could feel the intense love and gratitude that belonged to Justice.

**_Family… I find that I like the sound of that._ **

And as Anders was drifting off to sleep while Justice calmed the babies in that special way of his, Anders found that he liked the sound of it too.

**Author's Note:**

> Ugh, Justice loves the babies so much it hurts... ack. *clutches chest*
> 
> Well, I do intend on writing more and making this a proper series. Babies gotta be born sometime after all. Of course even with my "mages are sturdier than non-mages" headcanon, early births are common with multiples. Aaand it's only a matter of time until the confrontation between the mages and templars comes to a head. 
> 
> Which will happen first, I wonder? ;D


End file.
